Signs of Life at Disney World’s Ghost Hotel, Art of Animation nee Legendary Years

The hotel that was originally planned as the Legendary Years and the second half of Pop Century sat abandoned and forlorn for many years. Eventually it became known as Disney’s ghost hotel with the occasional brave soul venturing inside to take spooky videos of the partially constructed buildings.

Now Disney is in the middle of finishing the hotel, but not as the Legendary Years. Instead it will become the Art of Animation Hotel and feature some regular value rooms, but also a new type of room at Walt Disney World, the family suite.

Here’s a video from Jeff Lange showing construction going on at the site earlier today.

Come below the jump for concept artwork:

After viewing this concept art I can definitely see some of the details coming out in the video above.

Love the look and feel, I hear the inside will be pretty crazy too. It will have themed room interiors in the nearly 2,000 new units — 1,120 family suites in The Lion King, Cars and Finding Nemo wings and 864 themed rooms in The Little Mermaid wings. And once open in the summer of 2012, the resort will create 750 permanent jobs.

Wow — when I was there (Pop) in November, I could see construction going on but there was still the “Legendary years” framework — art deco numbering for the 20/30 decades. This is dramatically different.

I’ve stayed at POP 3 times now and looking across the lake at that abandoned hotel was so UN Disneylike LOL my son is planning on going down in January to be in the college internship program and I will HAVE to go down and see him. Looks like this will be my first choice hotel :-)